ERCOT, the electrical grid operator for most of Texas, issued a weather watch for Saturday through Tuesday ahead of the coldest temperatures in Dallas-Fort Worth so far this winter.
The watch was issued “due to forecasted below-freezing temperatures with the possibility of frozen precipitation, higher electrical demand, and the potential for lower reserves.”
ERCOT emphasized that grid conditions are expected to be normal, though, and it has not called for energy conservation.
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“Based on expected weather conditions, ERCOT anticipates there will be sufficient generation to meet demand this winter,” the agency said in a statement earlier this week.
“ERCOT will continue to deploy all available resources to manage the grid reliably and coordinate closely with the Public Utility Commission, generation providers, and transmission utilities,” it added.
Gov. Greg Abbott also activated state emergency response resources on Tuesday in preparation for the storm.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth issued a winter storm watch for all of North and Central Texas from noon Friday until Sunday afternoon. The agency also issued an extreme cold watch from 6 p.m. Saturday through Monday morning.
The weather service’s forecast predicted moderate to heavy accumulations of snow, sleet or ice across North Texas from Friday through Sunday morning. Temperatures are also expected to be dangerously cold — with wind chills dropping as low as 5 to -10 degrees —from late Saturday through Monday morning.
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.